World Cup pledge puts Worcester couple on path to Germany

WORCESTER — When people say the World Cup can be a life-changing event, they are referring to people such as Larry Wilson and Kara Obergfell.

The couple has been together for a year and lives together in an apartment above the city's only notable German watering hole — Nick's Bar and Restaurant at 124 Millbury St. — but they might not be there for much longer.

That's because the two made a pre-World Cup wager — Ms. Obergfell suggested that if Germany won, then they would both move there for a year.

Lo and behold, the Germans came through with a dramatic extra-time victory over Argentina on Sunday as Mario Goetze tallied the lone goal in the 113th minute — and now Deutschland looks destined for two more American expats.

"The funniest part is she's 75 percent German and she doesn't know a lick of German, and I've taken six years of German (classes)," Mr. Wilson, 28, said.

Germany, which won its fourth World Cup, was one of the pre-tournament favorites.

Statistician Nate Silver of ESPN website FiveThirtyEight listed the Germans as the third-most likely team to win the World Cup. But even then, Mr. Silver still only put the odds of a Die Mannschaft victory at 10.9 percent.

Las Vegas, meanwhile, also had Germany with the third-best odds at 5-to-1 behind only host nation Brazil and finalist Argentina.

"I love traveling," said Wilson, who watched Sunday's final from Nick's and was rooting hard for a Germany win. "I'm ready, my passport's prepared."

Mr. Wilson said his experience as a tuba player has allowed him prior trips to Germany.

"I've visited a handful of times touring with orchestras," he said. "I took German in high school, so I was always drawn to the Germanic countries."

Although it used to offer an even wider variety of German beers and cuisine, Nick's carried on its tradition as two-thirds of the smattering of bar patrons watching said their allegiance was to Germany.

A German flag was seen waving outside the Perfect Game sports bar on Water Street, though, which has become a popular World Cup haunt this summer.

Fans of both Germany and Argentina — many in Lionel Messi jerseys — also flocked to the Grey Hound Pub, which is also on Water Street. Worcester's designated soccer bar, the Grey Hound again drew a standing room crowd.

It was in the cozy, dimly lit environs of Nick's, however, where two fans had more on the line — an entire year of their life — than any monetary bet could match.

Ms. Obergfell and Mr. Wilson cheered excitedly with each German attacking opportunity, breathing sighs of relief every time Argentina squandered an offensive chance.

Fitting into Nick's often quirky vibe, the Spanish-language broadcast on Univision was coming in significantly clearer than the picture on ABC, so Wilson's frequent outbursts were often joined by the exasperated cries by Univision's five-person World Cup final broadcast team.

And the broadcast announced "un gol de Alemania" less than 10 minutes away from going to penalty kicks, Ms. Obergfell and Mr. Wilson knew their fate was sealed.

Mr. Wilson said he was expecting a goal even sooner — after all, the Germans held 60 percent of the possession and put seven shots on goal to Argentina's two.

Also watching at Nick's was Franklin Goldsmith, who was there for the game with two friends. Goldsmith said he spent several years living in the metro Berlin area.

Perhaps he can help Ms. Obergfell and Mr. Wilson with a real estate agent.

Contact Carl Setterlund at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @CarlSetterlund